1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an injection molding machine, and more specifically to display and setting in which categorization of operation parameters for operating an injection molding machine is apparent.
2. Description of Related Art
In order to operate an injection molding machine, it is necessary to set a large number of operation parameters, such as molding parameters.
As to these operation parameters, a display device is used to display the operation parameters on the screen, to thereby set the selection, setting values, and the like, of the operation parameters. It is well-known that, among the operation parameters, three kinds of operation parameters, including an automatic operation parameter, a semiautomatic operation parameter, and an operation parameter common to the automatic operation parameter, the semiautomatic operation parameter and a manual operation parameter, are displayed in different colors, to thereby distinctively display the categorization of operations (JP 7-290545A).
There is another well-known invention in which operation errors are reduced by allotting different figures and/or colors to the factors including speed, position, pressure, and time that are displayed on the screen (JP 7-156237A).
In further another well-known invention, among the molding information data that is set with respect to molded parts and the setting data concerning the control system of the machine, the machine characteristic value data accessible to the user, to which the user makes a setting alteration by him/herself, and the machine characteristic value data inaccessible to the user, which is set by the manufacturing corporation and does not allow the user to make a setting alteration, are stored in their respective areas separately from each other so that the data may be selectively initialized by using the storage areas individually or in arbitrary combination. This facilitates the data initialization and the setting after the initialization, which are carried out by the user. In favor of the manufacturing corporation, the manpower for initialization control at the stage of factory shipment is reduced (JP 9-239799A).
At the same time, as a large number of operation parameters need to be set, an injection molding machine that facilitates the work of setting the operation parameters is generally used. Operation parameters attributed to molds, which are automatically determined by the molds to be used, are stored with respect to each mold. When the mold to be used is determined, operation parameters stored correspondingly to the mold are called up and stored in a storage area for storing the operation parameters to be applied. The other operation parameters are each set and stored in the storage area for the operation parameters to be applied. Based on the operation parameters stored in the storage area for the operation parameters to be applied, the operation of the injection molding machine is controlled.
In early molding machines, operation parameters were not digital data. Therefore, the operation parameters could not be saved, so that it was necessary to set all the operation parameters every time molds were exchanged.
Since the control of molding machines had gradually been digitalized, the operation parameters had been replaced with digital data accordingly. Taking advantage of the fact that digital data can be stored in a nonvolatile memory, means for collectively storing and reading the operation parameters attributed to molds began to be widely used. Because of the above means, the operator's work for setting the operation parameters was drastically reduced. All the operator has to do is then to check the read-out operation parameters (those attributed to a mold) and to set the other operation parameters (those not attributed to the mold).
In general, the differentiation between the operation parameters attributed to molds and those not attributed molds is made on the basis of design produced by the manufacturing corporation of the injection molding machine. This differentiation, however, does not always agree with the differentiation recognized by the operator. This arouses a situation in which an operation parameter considered by the operator as one attributed to a mold is not the operation parameter attributed to the mold, or a situation in which an operation parameter that is not considered by the operator as one attributed to a mold is the operation parameter attributed to the mold.
An “ON/OFF” switch for start-up parameter will be described below as an example. This operation parameter is not attributed to a mold, so that it is not subjected to the setting when the operation parameters attributed to the mold are collectively read out. Therefore, the operator has to carry out the proper setting (switch ON) before operation. If the operator makes the mistake of taking the above parameter as one attributed to a mold, however, the operator does not perform the proper setting (switch ON). As a result, it is impossible to make the efficient transition from an unstable molding environment at the initial stage of the molding to a stable molding environment.
The forcible number of defective products will be described below as another example. This operation parameter is the number (shot) of molded parts that are forcibly discarded at the start of the molding. Usually, the number (shot) in which the molded parts are changed from defectives into non-defectives is set. The forcible number of defective products is an operation parameter attributed to a mold, so that it is set when the operation parameters attributed to the mold are collectively read out. If the operator makes the mistake of considering that the forcible number of defective products is not an operation parameter attributed to a mold, and after changing the forcible number of defective products, makes the forcible number of defective products stored collectively as an operation parameter attributed to a mold without setting the number back to the original value, there arises a problem later. For example, suppose that the operator changes the forcible number of defective products from 15 to 0, for the molded parts are non-defective, and makes the forcible number of defective products stored as an operation parameter attributed to a mold without setting the forcible number of defective products back to the original. Later, for the purpose of using the same mold, another operator reads out the operation parameters attributed to the mold collectively to find that the forcible number of defective products is 0. However, if the operator makes the right decision that the forcible number of defective products is an operation parameter attributed to the mold, he/she starts the molding without setting the forcible number of defective products back to the original value (15). As a result, defectives at the initial stage of the molding are not discarded and mixed with non-defectives, which obstructs the quality control.
Furthermore, the injection molding machine is provided with peripheral equipment of various types, including a molded part-retrieving device, a temperature controller, etc. In some cases, operation parameters are displayed and set with respect to these pieces of the peripheral equipment together with the operation parameters for the injection molding machine. When these operation parameters are displayed among those for the injection molding machine, it is sometimes hard for the operator to differentiate between the operation parameters for the injection molding machine and those for the peripheral equipment among the operation parameters displayed.